New harness helps children with disabilities walk

An Israeli mother living in Ireland invented a harness to help her son walk. She's now sharing the device with parents all over the world.

Robynn Garfield

An Israeli mother living in Ireland invented a harness to help her son walk. Now she's sharing the device with parents all over the world.
Debby Elnatan's son Rotem was born with cerebral palsy, a movement disorder that affects motor skills, muscle tone and posture. She said when he was two years old, doctors told her Rotam had no conscious awareness of his legs.
"That was an incredibly difficult thing for a mother to hear," Elnatan said. "I started to walk him day after day, which was a very strenuous task for both of us. Out of my pain and desperation came the idea for the Upsee and I'm delighted to see it come to fruition."
The Upsee is a harness that attaches to a child's back. It comes with foot and back braces that also attach a child to an adult. The device allows a child with limited mobility to "walk" using the support of an adult.
Elnatan sought out the Irish development company Leckey to help make her idea a reality.
Leckey hopes the product will be able to reach families all over the world, developer Clare Canale said.
"Short-term, the Upsee improves special needs family participation and quality of life, while research suggests it has the potential to help the with physical and emotional development in the longer term," Canale said.
Watching the individual impact of the Upsee has been amazing, she said.
"It has been humbling to see the progress and happiness the Upsee is creating; watching children to do simple things for the first time such as kicking a ball or playing with a sibling is wonderful for everyone involved, but especially the families," Canale said.
Lecky has been working with families internationally for the past three months in a trial-run of the harness.
Five-year-old Noah Warden from Colorado has cerebral palsy and has been participating in the harness' trial test. His mother Stacey said she can already see an improvement in her son's mobility.
"We are thrilled with the Upsee because in the short time we've been using it, it has made a huge difference to our family," Stacey Warden said. "It allows us to do so many things and go so many places that we couldn't before."
The harness ships to the U.S. in 72 hours, Leckey representative Connor McKernan said.
"We have had 5000 enquiries to date," McKernan said, "There's so much excitement."%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D157212%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E